My probation officer put a warrant for my arrest,how much jail time am i looking at?

San Antonio, TX | July 28, 2013 5:25am

I'm on differed probation for obstruction of hwy for 1 yr. my warrant is because i blow late into my Breathalyzer,but Ive never blew positive for alcohol just late.will i have to do the whole yr. in jail?

Most likely you wouldn't be facing the whole year in jail, but there could definitely be jail consequences. As Mr. Meaney advised, contact your attorney right away or find an experienced attorney in your area on this website for specific advice and representation.

It is going to depend on what the list of violations looks like. Have you paid your fines? Done your community service? Taken the classes? How many times have you missed a scheduled blow? All of these things and more will be taken into consideration. It is in your best interest to hire an attorney to get on top of this situation as soon as possible before it gets any worse. Good luck.

Mr. Smith's answer to a legal question on Avvo does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Shawn H. Smith offers a free initial consultation to discuss your case. Feel free to call his office at 512-576-3380 or visit his website at www.shslawoffice.com for more information about his services.

In my opinion, there are two factors that will play into this. (1) What court are you in? Different judges handle these differently. Some judges are more willing to tolerate certain mistakes than others. (2) As Mr. Smith pointed out, whether you have any other violations. In my experience, merely blowing late will not trigger a revocation, but it could be used as a warning (i.e. that you will not get any second chances).

Also as an aside, if you are on probation for it out of Bexar County, I believe it will be as straight probation and not deferred probation as you suggested. Generally, defendants are not offered a deferred probation for the Obstruction Deals, but maybe your situation is unique in that you were not initially charged as a DWI and then pled to an Obstruction. If you are on probation out of another county it's more possible that it is a deferred probation, because the surrounding county assistant district attorneys are given more flexibility in plea negotiations than those in Bexar.

This answer is for informational and educational use only. This answer does not create attorney-client relationship. For more details, I recommend a private consultation with a criminal defense attorney.

Under the Take Responsibility Program that you pled to, you made a deal to be on probation for a year on a class B misdemeanor, so no, you will not have to do a year. The range of punishment on your case is a maximum of 180 days in jail.

I do a lot of misdemeanor MTRs, and as the others said, what happens will depend on which court you are in, what you've already done, and how egregious your violation(s) is/are. If you were just late once or twice, it's unlikely they would have filed on you. Rather, they must suspect that you are still drinking, and that's why you're blowing late.

Judges take this sort of violation seriously. They can extend your probation or add conditions like a jail sanction or outpatient/inpatient treatment if it is needed. I've also seen judges order AA meetings in situations like this. Of course, revocation is also possible.

A good attorney who knows MTRs should be able to either fight the allegations for you, or work out a solution that satisfies you, probation, the DA, and the judge. I wish you the best of luck.